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Getting a Notice of Default

post from Housing Assist of America on 03 November 2009 02:06:00 PM. © Housing Assist of America

Receiving a Notice of Default: end of the world as we know it?My neighbors rang me the other day, panicked about a notice of default they received on their door. Let me explain to you guys it’s not the best feeling in the world, in fact your[...]

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Expanded Recovery Act Tax Credits Help Homeowners
Winterize their Homes, Save Energy; Check Tax Credit Certification Before You Buy, IRS Advises

post from Commercial Real Estate Appraiser - Appraisal Blog, APPRAISAL/CONSULTING SERVICES: 310.337.1973 on 03 November 2009 02:03:00 PM. © Commercial Real Estate Appraiser - Appraisal Blog, APPRAISAL/CONSULTING SERVICES: 310.337.1973

Expanded Recovery Act Tax Credits Help Homeowners Winterize their Homes, Save Energy; Check Tax Credit Certification Before You Buy, IRS Advises

Home Energy Video: English | Spanish | ASL

Audio File for Podcast: English | Spanish

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IR-2009-98, Oct. 29, 2009

WASHINGTON — People can now weatherize their homes and be rewarded for their efforts. According to the Internal Revenue Service, homeowners making energy-saving improvements this fall can cut their winter heating bills and lower their 2009 tax bill as well.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act), enacted earlier this year, expanded two home energy tax credits: the nonbusiness energy property credit and the residential energy efficient property credit.

Nonbusiness Energy Property Credit

This credit equals 30 percent of what a homeowner spends on eligible energy-saving improvements, up to a maximum tax credit of $1,500 for the combined 2009 and 2010 tax years. The cost of certain high-efficiency heating and air conditioning systems, water heaters and stoves that burn biomass all qualify, along with labor costs for installing these items. In addition, the cost of energy-efficient windows and skylights, energy-efficient doors, qualifying insulation and certain roofs also qualify for the credit, though the cost of installing these items does not count.

By spending as little as $5,000 before the end of the year on eligible energy-saving improvements, a homeowner can save as much as $1,500 on his or her 2009 federal income tax return. Due to limits based on tax liability, other credits claimed by a particular taxpayer and other factors, actual tax savings will vary. These tax savings are on top of any energy savings that may result.

Residential Energy Efficient Property Credit

Homeowners going green should also check out a second tax credit designed to spur investment in alternative energy equipment. The residential energy efficient property credit, equals 30 percent of what a homeowner spends on qualifying property such as solar electric systems, solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, wind turbines, and fuel cell property. Generally, labor costs are included when calculating this credit. Also, no cap exists on the amount of credit available except in the case of fuel cell property.

Not all energy-efficient improvements qualify for these tax credits. For that reason, homeowners should check the manufacturer’s tax credit certification statement before purchasing or installing any of these improvements. The certification statement can usually be found on the manufacturer’s website or with the product packaging. Normally, a homeowner can rely on this certification. The IRS cautions that the manufacturer’s certification is different from the Department of Energy’s Energy Star label, and not all Energy Star labeled products qualify for the tax credits.

Eligible homeowners can claim both of these credits when they file their 2009 federal income tax return. Because these are credits, not deductions, they increase a taxpayer’s refund or reduce the tax he or she owes. An eligible taxpayer can claim these credits, regardless of whether he or she itemizes deductions on Schedule A. Use Form 5695, Residential Energy Credits, to figure and claim these credits. A draft version of this form is available now on IRS.gov.

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=214873,00.html

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To Borrow Money or Not That Is the Question

post from Housing Assist of America on 03 November 2009 01:46:00 PM. © Housing Assist of America

Are you debating whether or not you should borrow money?Lets be real, owing money to anyone sucks. If I never needed another penny from a person again, I can swear that I would not take it. It doesn’t matter if you are borrowing from friends,[...]

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GSEs Miss FHFAs Goals for Low-Income Originations

post from Housing Wire on 03 November 2009 01:44:43 PM. © Housing Wire

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will adjust its target goals for facilitating mortgage origination for low- and moderate-income individuals after the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) missed a key loan-purchase goal for originations to low- and moderate-income borrowers.FHFA said it plans to lower recommended loan purchase goals for Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.0099 -1.95%) and Freddie Mac [...]

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Lehman Veteran Joins Clayton Holdings

post from Housing Wire on 03 November 2009 01:10:27 PM. © Housing Wire

Risk analysis and loss mitigation service provider Clayton Holdings added industry veteran Thomas Gere as senior managing director.Gere joins Clayton with more than 25 years of experience, including senior sales positions at financial services firm Lehman Brothers and investment bank Cohane Rafferty within the fixed-income and whole-loan channels.Gere will head up expansion efforts in Clayton’s [...]

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Fannie Raises Lenders Net Worth Requirement
Ten-Fold

post from Housing Wire on 03 November 2009 12:27:28 PM. © Housing Wire

Fannie Mae (FNM: 1.00 -2.91%) updated its eligibility requirements for lenders wanting to sell and service residential first mortgages, according to the new selling guide released Friday.To do business with Fannie Mae, lenders must now have a net worth of at least $2.5m — 10 times the previous required net worth — plus a dollar [...]

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Commercial RE Prices Rise 4.4% in Q309: MIT

post from Housing Wire on 03 November 2009 11:28:33 AM. © Housing Wire

Transaction prices rose 4.4% on commercial real estate properties sold in Q309 by major institutional investors, according to the MIT Center for Real Estate (MIT/CRE).The gain marked the first positive price change in more than a year for the Center’s transactions-based index (TBI). It is also the largest increase since before the market downturn began [...]

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Is Fannie Mae Killing the Golden Goose

post from Real Estate Investing For Real | A BiggerPockets Investment Property Blog on 03 November 2009 11:22:33 AM. © Real Estate Investing For Real | A BiggerPockets Investment Property Blog

One study of mortgages during the Great Depression found that almost half of urban, owner-occupied homes (on which there was a mortgage) were in default by 1934. The government’s answer was to sponsor the creation of Fannie Mae in 1938 (or as it is really called, the Federal National Mortgage Association), which was, and [...]

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e/

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Office REIT Loses $2.8M in Q309

Real estate investment trust (REIT) Parkway Properties (PKY: 17.34 +0.29%) lost nearly $2.8m, or $0.13 per share, in Q309, compared to profit of $18.5m, $1.23 per diluted share, in Q308.The Jackson, Miss.-based REIT specializes in acquiring, owning, operating and leasing office space, primarily in the Southeastern and Southwestern United States and Chicago. Parkway owns or [...]

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How to Buy Foreclosures For Sale

Foreclosures for sale are available in the market as a result of failure of the borrower to pay back the mortgage loan and subsequently the lender forecloses the property and puts it up for sale to reclaim his lost amount of money. Foreclosures for sale attract a large number of buyers as there are various [...]

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